


Warm Blooded; Cold Blooded

by MaurLin



Series: Blood Work [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Continuation, Gabriel Agreste's A+ Parenting, Gen, POV Original Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:47:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24705574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaurLin/pseuds/MaurLin
Summary: A continuation of 'An Issue of Blood' (and a setup for a future third part).Nikolai ties up some loose ends in Paris before heading home- and overhears a conversation between the Black Cat and his father.
Series: Blood Work [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1785706
Comments: 18
Kudos: 35





	1. Cleanup on Aisle 5

**Author's Note:**

> (Most of the) Characters belong to ZAG and Thomas Astruc.

Nikolai had brought the two kwami back to Fu’s place, and given him a rundown of the battle before running out again. He wanted to find Varujan’s day hideout before anyone thought to investigate the young heroes’ stories. Thanks to the Ladybug’s tale, and the warehouse location, Nikolai was able to figure out roughly where Varujan should have been hiding.

His guess was good; since there were two blood donation centers within reasonable distance, it made sense that a vampire who didn’t want to kill immediately would hide out in a nearby cemetery. The old family mausoleum near the entrance showed signs of recent entry; a human couldn’t have moved the granite slab, but it was no trouble for a vampire after jumping the wrought-iron fence.

Nikolai found clothing and a few personal items, including a handmade leather-bound journal. Touching it, he had the unsettling feeling that the leather was made from human skin. Which objectively, made sense; Varujan wasn’t completely wasting a kill only for the blood and the thrill. But subjectively… someone had died to make this journal. Someone with family…

It was something a vampire like Nikolai hated. Humans were people. No matter that historically they were prey (and still were, to a certain extent), they thought, created, and lived much as vampires did. To a thinking creature, it was repellent to kill another one just to satisfy one’s own desires. Animals were different; Nikolai had touched the minds in his herd, and they just didn’t think the same way. Although they were intelligent in their own way, theirs was a simpler existence, with little thought for the future. But the cattle he raised had an instinctive acceptance of life and its cycle that made their necessary deaths much easier.

He brought his mind back to the present. No doubt that there would be a police investigation; this wasn’t a day where two teenagers could stumble into a hospital and their story not be questioned. Nikolai would have to stay an extra day to check in with the local contacts in the police department. Part of why they were there was for situations like this- when the worlds of the humans and the others collided, it was best to contain any damages. The last thing the world needed was another Inquisition- of any kind.

He cleared out all of Varujan’s possessions from the corner of the crypt. While he couldn’t hide the signs of occupation completely, Nikolai did his best to make sure the signs looked older than they were. Hopefully, if an investigation could not be deterred and the detectives came here, they would not connect the dots.

Settled in Fu’s apartment for the remainder of the night, Nikolai debated which of the two calls he needed to make should be first.

_ How about leaving the nasty one for later? _ Nikolai opened up a Skype call on his laptop.

His wife picked up immediately. “Hi, beautiful,” he smiled at the screen.

_ “Hi, handsome.” _ Hearing his wife’s voice was the soothing balm he needed after the night’s battle and before his chat with his contact in Romania. He had been stressed the whole day, although he felt the little Black Cat had done outstandingly well for one so young. Honestly, Nikolai was amazed at his determination and resilience. The fight had been way too close, though- the tiny Ladybug even now might not make it.

It was in the hands of human doctors now, to see her through- them and her devoted Cat. Nikolai thought the two of them were adorable.

_ “Is it a rogue after all?” _ Katrin’s concerned face watched his. She knew as well as Nikolai did the dangers that rogue vampires were to the rest of their community; it was why he had volunteered to be part of the official supernatural policing force in the first place. Not that there was much call for it, these days; he generally had to worry about the farm more than rogues. But every few years, something came up, and it was his duty to put a stop to it before the humans cottoned on and started hunting their kind again.

Nikolai nodded, and smiled. “It  **was.** One of the really bad ones- he only went after teenage girls.” The previous rogue he had helped to fight had been only interested in adult men- handsome, young adult men, but still, adults. She had been a pain to find, especially since the young men in question weren’t the type to admit weakness. Another he had heard of targeted the elderly, in the mistaken belief that he was assisting them to pass on (even as he picked the heartiest seniors instead of the infirm). Still- there was a difference between attacking an adult and a child- and this Varujan had compounded his crime by going after children.

Well, thanks to the Cat, he wouldn’t be doing it again.

His emphasis on the past tense made the worry lines in Katrin’s face soften and disappear. She closed her eyes and exhaled.  _ “So, you won. Good.” _

“With help. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home.”

She smiled.  _ “Does this mean you’ll be home soon?” _

Nikolai shrugged. “Since I’m here, I thought I’d check in with our contact at the blood bank, see if any supplies have gone missing. Chances were our rogue was supplementing his diet- he seemed pretty fixated on his target; I doubt he was thinking of draining anyone else until he finished with her.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Why do these idiots have to endanger ALL of us with their outdated nonsense?”

It was a rhetorical question, and Katrin had the sense not to answer it. She knew as well as he did how he felt about the more ‘medieval’ vampire sects that had the habit of spawning rogues every so often. And she felt the same _. “So, a day or two more, then?” _

“Probably just one day, to check on loose ends. Make sure anyone investigating gets enough to satisfy their curiosity, without being able to out us. Our people in the local police department need a heads-up to help with that.”

Katrin bit her lip.  _ “Okay. We just might have a situation with Sami when you get home. Or- not with him, exactly- I gather there’s an issue at school, and he flatly refused to tell me about it.” _

Nikolai groaned. Tweenage drama of another sort, no doubt. He hoped he was up to it. “Okay, beautiful. I’ll see if I can get our young Stone-Face to talk.”

Katrin smirked, then got serious.  _ “Also, I think we have to consider what’s best for Honey. Her knees are really arthritic, and she’s gone off feed. The vet’s doing what he can, but he said it would be kinder to let her go.” _

That wasn’t totally unexpected- he’d seen this coming for a month. Honey was positively ancient for a goat, but she’d been the herd matriarch for years. “We’ll deal with that when I get home, too. And it’s good timing, all things considered. Anything else?”

_ “Cows are good, goats are good, other kids besides Sami mostly good.” _ She blew him a kiss.  _ “Get your rest and keep us safe.” _

“Always, beautiful.”

_ “Night, handsome.” _ The call ended, and Nikolai sighed. Time to have the nasty conversation.

Cosmina, a vampire contact of his in the Romanian area, picked up the call. Cosmina was one of the whole-human vampires who lived near Brasov; while she had embraced some modern ways (she got her blood through blood banks), she had never seen the point of getting her needs from any other creature, and sympathized with the ‘herder’ vampires that still kept villages of humans. Still, as a member of the vampire community, she understood the need for them to police their own.

_ “Nikolai,”  _ Cosmina almost purred. She had clearly been feeding, and well, quite recently; her eyes had the slightly unfocused, euphoric look that human blood gave vampires.  _ “What makes you call at this time of night? Shouldn’t you be sleeping like a human?” _

Nikolai refused to roll his eyes at her dig. “Sorry to interrupt whatever you were doing.” He made sure his tone was as neutral as possible.

_ “As it happens, you were interrupting a Blutfest.” _ Cosmina caught Nikolai’s involuntary twitch at that, and her smirk widened. A Blutfest was a vampire ritual, killing an animal (or a person) by bleeding them out and then feasting on the blood. Among Nikolai’s group, it was reserved for beloved animals that were old or in too much pain to live; it was considered humane to link mentally with the animal so it felt no more pain or fear as it passed. But Cosmina’s condition clearly meant that a human had been the focus for this ritual.

__ And she knew how uncomfortable she was making him.  _ “Poor human; he just got the word that his stage-4 cancer had not responded to treatment last month. He came to us, begging for a pain-free end. We have been caring for him and freeing him from pain as he weakened, and the doctor declared him terminal this morning.” _

Nikolai breathed heavily through his nose. “I didn’t call to debate lifestyle choices with you, Cosmina. There was a rogue in Paris.”

_ “In Paris? Isn’t that your jurisdiction?” _ Cosmina got serious- or as serious as she ever seemed to get with him.

“From what I managed to learn before he perished, he was from your area. Does the name Varujan ring any bells?”

Cosmina’s face twisted, and she spat a curse.  _ “That one! Running so he wouldn’t have to face our justice-I’m astonished he made it as far as Paris! He should have been killed a long time ago for his stupidity!”  _ Her face grew cold.  _ “How many girl-childs did he cull?” _

Nikolai did roll his eyes at that. “Too many. I found records on at least ten girls in major cities; there may be more.”

_“There probably are; he did have the wit to clean up after himself- sometimes,”_ Cosmina huffed. _“We might not have suspected him ourselves if he had kept his mouth off the mayor’s daughter._ _The publicity of her death almost sent a witch-hunt after him, AND us! I hope he got what he deserved!”_

“If you call ‘death by Black Cat’ what he deserved, then yes,” Nikolai stated calmly, and he took great pleasure in seeing Cosmina’s eyes widen. “It pays to keep tabs on other parts of the world, Cosmina. There have been monsters plaguing Paris for some time now; the Black Cat and the Ladybug have awoken to deal with the threat.” Nikolai leaned closer to the screen. “We’re going to have to do better at containing our own problems. After all, we don’t want them thinking of  _ us _ as a threat, now do we?”

Cosmina shuddered.  _ “No, we don’t- not after the last time. I will spread the word to my contacts in Eastern Europe; they will pass it on to the Middle East and Africa. Eventually it should get to Asia-“ _

“Don’t worry about that. I already sent emails to my contacts in the Americas, Australia, and Japan, as well as Europe; they will pass the word on. I was just requesting help for any who may not have joined the digital age yet, since you know who that is better than I do.” And really, there were a few of those in every country; Nikolai was counting on the tech-savvy ones to enlighten the ones who refused to look at a computer. “Better to spread the word fast, though, before a potential problem actually becomes one.”

_ “Done. I will mail the notices by the end of the week.” _ Cosmina nodded sharply.

“Good. I will send you Varujan’s journal,” Nikolai held up the leather-bound book. “Maybe it’ll tell us where to look for other victims. I’ll also find out anything more I can about Varujan’s activities in Paris, though it’s a moot point since he’s a smear of black dust now.” Nikolai knew it was wrong, but it was almost worth it to see Cosmina turn a greenish color and almost lose her food at his statement. “Sorry. I’ll send an email if anything else important comes up.” He paused. “And I’m sure  _ you’ll _ let us know of any- problems- that come up in the future.  _ Before _ they show up.”

Cosmina simply nodded again in acknowledgement of his quiet rebuke, and cut the call. Nikolai stretched, shut down his laptop and laid down to sleep. He’d have a lot to do tomorrow.


	2. Overheard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nikolai listens in on a Cat's family matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters belong to ZAG and Thomas Astruc. (At least most of them.)

Nikolai’s time at the hospital blood bank netted him the information that, while their supply had gone untouched, there had been reports of missing supplies at the two donation centers in the city he’d suspected. His contact there, a human woman named Marie, had thought that was odd, but hadn’t had anything concrete to report to her superiors (human or otherwise). She was glad to find out where the missing supplies had gone, and confirmed the name of the officer at the police department who could help him.

But first, Nikolai wanted to visit the Black Cat. The teenager had a room at the hospital; he had taken a vicious beating in the fight, and would be recovering. Nikolai wanted to know if the boy’s cover story had held- amnesia might be an easy thing to fake, but it also might raise suspicions the boy didn’t need. Like, maybe that  _ he _ had kidnapped and hurt the Ladybug.

But as he approached the room, he heard a more unsettling conversation going on.

“- _ fail to see how my son’s health could be relevant to this discussion, officer.” _ The voice had a slight tinny sound to it, like a recording, but the cold tone made the hairs on the back of Nikolai’s neck stand up.

The officer’s reply was drier than last year’s hay. “Your son was missing for an entire day, along with one of his classmates, and they stumble into a hospital with injuries and no memory? Forgive us if we think their health is  **relevant.** ”

Nikolai found a small alcove near the door, and slid into it to keep listening.

“Père, I don’t-“

The tinny, cold voice interrupted the Cat. “ _ Be silent, Adrien. Your behavior is bad enough; it is clear that you wanted attention and thought this rebellion would get it. Congratulations; you are now going to be removed from school. We will renew your homeschooling tomorrow.” _

A new voice entered the conversation- a female. “Young M. Agreste will not be released for  **at least** two days. His  **injuries** require monitoring for at least that long.” Her sharp tone made it clear what she thought of the tinny voice.

The officer spoke again. “Surely your son’s health is the most important thing here- that and finding out how he vanished from a locked room and got beaten black and blue. Unless  **you** know more about how it happened…”

_ “Just what are you implying?” _ the tinny voice responded- Nikolai thought it sounded angry this time.

“Nothing, I’m sure,” came the bland response. “Only, why was it that you didn’t report your son as a missing person until  **after** he was found?”

_ “I do not have to answer for what my employees decide to do while I am out of town,” _ came the cold response.  _ “Obviously, they chose to search for him themselves rather than bring the news straight to me.” _

Nikolai’s ears were good; he could hear the heartbeat monitor picking up slightly. Clearly, whatever the tinny voice was saying was distressing the Black Cat (Adrien?). But the boy’s voice stayed quiet and slow, although it shook. “Père, I don’t remember leaving the house. I went to bed- and the next thing I knew I was in the alley with Marinette. She was bleeding so much… I had to help her.” His voice trailed off. “We were lucky to be so close to the hospital,” he finished quietly.

The tinny voice was unimpressed. “ _ Caring for some random girl doesn’t excuse your foolishness. Whatever injury you suffered is your own fault for disobedience.”  _ There was a pause, and then, “ _ Your services are not needed, officer. Adrien’s rebellion will be appropriately dealt with when I return.” _

“Despite what you seem to think, M. Agreste, that is not how this works. We are doing an investigation of this; you can choose to help, or to be an obstacle.”

_ “I see.”  _ The voice was tight with anger.  _ “Then we will continue this later. Nathalie, time to go.” _

Nikolai eased out of the alcove to see a black-haired woman carry a tablet out of Adrien’s room. The doctor and officer continued to talk to the boy, but Nikolai felt that whoever was speaking through the tablet was the one he needed to listen to. Call it a hunch, but something was very wrong with Adrien’s father.

He ghosted after the woman, who strode purposefully down the hall. Abruptly she made a left turn into a small waiting area. Ducking inside behind her, Nikolai slid into a seat and pretended to be asleep, chin tucked into his chest.

The woman began speaking to the tablet. “Did you mean that about pulling him out of school, sir?”

_ “No, of course not. I may not approve of his going to school, but it does have some benefits. Not the least of which is the emotional turmoil that seems to surround his classmates. I will allow myself to be ‘convinced’ of his innocence tomorrow; that will encourage him to see me as a considerate parent.”  _ A soft chuckle emanated from the speaker.  _ “I may need to destroy his hopes and friendships to meet my goals, but…not yet.” _

“And what of the girl? Marinette?” The woman seemed untroubled by her –employer? Lover? Whatever Tablet-face was to her- or his remarks about his son, just mildly interested. “You have tried to akumatize” (what an odd word) “her before.”

_ “She is of no concern at the moment, Nathalie. Adrien may care for her, and we can use that in the future. But right now she is as injured as he is. No, I need them well for my plans.” _

“Of course, sir. We will pick you up from the airport in a week.” The woman- Nathalie- shut the tablet down, and turned to leave. She gasped; Nikolai suspected she’d noticed him.

He looked up quickly and caught her gaze with his eyes. He had told Adrien that he used his telepathic ability ‘mostly’ with his animals, but this was the other reason he used it- to cover his tracks. A touch of his mind to hers- she had a twisted sense of darkness to her that reminded him of Varujan in a way, but he had felt worse. He smiled, as her face relaxed and her eyes dilated.  _ Believe what I tell you… _

Fortunately, he didn’t need to put her completely under for this. Nikolai blinked at her and yawned, pretending to have just woken up. “I’m sorry, miss. I was waiting for my daughter to come out of surgery and must’ve fallen asleep. I hope I didn’t startle you.”

She shook her head, as if shaking herself awake, then her face settled into cold professionalism. “No, not at all. I did not mean to wake you with our  _ private _ conversation.”

_ Fishing to see what I know, are you?  _ Nikolai shrugged and rubbed his eyes. “Well, you did, but all I heard about was the airport, if that makes you feel better. I’ll leave you here to finish while I check on my little girl.” He got up from his seat.

“No need.” With that, the woman swept out the door and towards the elevator. Nikolai wanted to follow, but he still needed to talk to the Black Cat- Adrien- and check on the little Ladybug.

Perhaps Ladybug first. Give the Cat a moment to recover from the awful conversation with his father.

Sneaking into the ICU to see the Ladybug- Marinette, the woman had called her- was tedious, but not difficult. The one nurse who tried to stop him from going through the doors was easily convinced he was a relative and let him in. As he approached her alcove, Nikolai saw a small woman giving the girl a hug before stepping away. “Your father will be here in an hour, sweetie. You’ll be okay?”

“I’ll be fine, Mom.” Marinette was still pale, but seemed more awake than she had been even at Fu’s. The monitors indicated a steady heartbeat. “Just check on Adrien, please? They won’t even let me see him.”

The woman patted Marinette’s hand again, then left. Nikolai eased into the alcove, grabbing the solitary chair and sitting in it. “Hi there.”

Marinette turned her head to her visitor. “Hello,” she said with a smile. “I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again, Nikolai.”

Nikolai shrugged. “Tying up some loose ends. Varujan had to have had a safe spot for waiting out the days; I wanted to make sure that if it’s found by others, that there’s nothing incriminating there. And I wanted to make sure that you and the Cat are all right.”

A corner of Marinette’s mouth twitched. “You mean, did our stories hold up, and does anyone suspect the truth?”

Nikolai gave her a flat stare, although the corners of his mouth twitched too. “Yes, that too.”

“It seems to be okay,” Marinette reassured him. “No one’s questioned it too closely, but that just might be because I’m not allowed visitors except for family.” Her gaze sharpened. “How did  _ you _ get in?”

“Trade secret.” At her look of disbelief, Nikolai chuckled. “I’ve been protecting my kind for almost fifty years. This isn’t my first time getting into a place where I shouldn’t be. If anyone asks, I’m your uncle.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Okay,  _ Uncle.  _ As long as you’re sure.” She paused. “Is- Cat- okay? No one’s told me anything.”

“Are you not using his name because you don’t know it, or because you think I don’t know it?” Nikolai asked, then shook his head. “Either way, he was mostly fine a while ago- if being berated by his monster of a father via video chat is ‘being fine’. It might’ve been worse if the cop and nurse hadn’t been there, but it still sounded bad.”

Marinette picked at the blanket covering her legs. “Poor Cat. His dad’s always been harsh; I guess this just looked like a rebellious teen to him.”

“Actually,” Nikolai paused. How much should he tell the Ladybug? She was still weakened by her trial with Varujan, but- it had sounded like Adrien’s father had no good plans for her either. “I think keeping a sharp eye on Cat Noir’s father is a good idea. Something is off about the man; he seems to not care about his son at all- just about what his son can do for him.”

Marinette grimaced and rolled her eyes. “I used to think he was great, but he’s so hard on everyone- it’s like he wants everyone to be as miserable as he is. I’m not sure I can find out what his problem is…”

“Just keep the Cat in the loop. He’s a good guy, and he deserves your support.” Nikolai shook his finger at Marinette as he stood to leave.

She wrinkled her nose at him. “Yes,  _ Uncle. _ ” Her voice softened. “He’s the best guy. I won’t let him down. Will you see him before you leave?”

“Yes; I’m going there now. After that, I have to meet with my contact here in the city who can steer the investigation into what happened to you two away from the truth, and then catch the train home.”

Marinette smiled again, and held out her hand, surprising the vampire. Not many victims who survived would dare hold out a hand in friendship to his kind. Her grip was firm when he took it. “Thank you, Nikolai. If we can help you with anything, let us know.”

“Be well, little Ladybug.” Nikolai smiled, squeezed her hand, and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oy.
> 
> Let me know what you think! The next story is almost completely outlined, and portions/scenes are written. I'll get it to you as soon as I can, but the OUTLINE is over 1500 words...it's gonna be long. Please be patient with me?


	3. Leaving Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nikolai sees the Cat and the local cop- and learns more about the threats in Paris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Most) Characters belong to ZAG and Thomas Astruc.

Adrien’s room was devoid of other people now. Nikolai found him in the bed, the head raised so that he was sitting almost normally. Adrien was picking at a tray of food while staring out the window; his left hand was worrying the blanket between his fingers.

“Hey,” said Nikolai, knocking on the doorjamb. Adrien’s head snapped toward the sound, his shoulders relaxing as he saw who it was.

“Hi, Nikolai,” the boy responded. “Have you seen m-Ladybug? Is she okay? Are  _ you _ okay after what happened?” He would have asked more questions, Nikolai was sure, but he stopped as Nikolai waved his hands to ward off the barrage.

“One at a time!” Nikolai laughed. “Yes, I have; yes, she’s fine; yes, I’m fine, thanks for asking.”

Adrien’s cheeks reddened. “Sorry. It’s just- no one’s been telling me anything.”

Nikolai shrugged as he walked into the room. “Not a surprise. News is a jealously guarded thing in a hospital- no telling what might set off a delicate patient.”

The young man scowled for a second (probably at being thought ‘delicate’) before smoothing his features. “I mean- I saw Ladybug’s mom a second ago; she said everything was okay, but I could tell she was worried and didn’t want to upset me.”

“Nor should she.” Nikolai got serious. “I heard your ass of a father; he was doing enough upsetting for anyone. You don’t need any more of that.”

Adrien’s color deepened. “My father’s always been… overprotective.”

“Meaning, he’s always tried to control you. Can’t get in trouble if you don’t go anywhere,” Nikolai flopped down in the visitor’s chair. “From what I heard in here and outside talking to that woman, I wish I could call a police investigation on  _ him  _ instead of  _ you.” _

“Wouldn’t help.” Adrien glanced off to the side. “So you heard the officer too.”

“Yeah, but I have a contact at the department. We might be able to divert the investigation away from you and the supernatural elements. Or- maybe not. This  _ is _ a city with magical threats and heroes; all we can do is our best.”

Adrien grew thoughtful. “Maybe m-Ladybug can think of something. I’ll ask her,” he sobered, “if I ever get to see her.”

Nikolai hid his grin. These two were so cute. “Do that. I’m sure she can.” He sat back and crossed his legs. “I’m going to see our police contact, then head home. My wife’s worried about one of the kids.”

Adrien’s face scrunched in puzzlement. “You have kids?”

“What, did you think vampires reproduce by reanimating our victims?” Nikolai laughed at the sheepish look Adrien gave him. “No, we have families and children, just like humans do. We just live a century or so longer than you.”

“Really? How-“ Adrien stopped himself, but Nikolai could guess.

“-old am I? I’ll be eighty next year; my son Sami looks about your age, but he just turned twenty-nine. He goes to regular school now; I falsified his records to make him half his age. Naturally, we have to homeschool until the kids are able to blend in better, but we develop as slowly as we age. So Sami may be older than you, but he acts pretty much like a human teen.”

“I’d like to meet him sometime,” Adrien grinned. “And see your farm- I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“Maybe someday we can arrange that,” Nikolai smiled back, and stood. “Don’t let your father get you down. And take care of your Ladybug.”

Adrien’s grin softened into a glowing smile. “I will.” He shook hands with the vampire.

Nikolai headed for the door. “Oh,” he added, just before leaving. “Don’t be surprised if your dad tells you he’ll ‘let’ you keep going to school. I heard him say so after his assistant left; that he wants you to be grateful to him.”

Adrien frowned at that. “Why?”

Nikolai considered. The young man was still recovering; he had enough to deal with. He’d tell the police, and Fu if he could, his suspicions. “Not sure. But that’s what he said.” He paused. “You might want to take what he does with a grain of salt. He doesn’t seem the type to do anything unless it benefits him somehow.” And with Adrien thinking about that, Nikolai left the room.

Nikolai’s contact at the police department was – coincidentally?- the very officer in charge of the Agreste/ Dupain-Cheng ‘kidnapping’ case. Detective Guerin had had his suspicions that it would be something like this when he saw the photos of the girl’s injury, and had volunteered to take the case. The other members of the force were apparently more than happy to let him take on the potential PR nightmare that was the Agreste family.

He’d not been best pleased to find out Nikolai had overheard his conversation with Mr. Agreste, but Nikolai had liked the man when he’d heard him in the hospital, and his first impression was swiftly confirmed.

“Don’t think I don’t know how vampires are,” said the detective as he sat at his desk. Nikolai was grateful for the tiny private office; this wasn’t a discussion that should happen in the open. “At least the bad ones. No teeth marks like the rabble would believe, just a straight rip in the jugular. Add in that weird bruise on her elbow, and there’s no way that little girl wasn’t the target of a rogue.”

“Well, she was,” Nikolai confirmed. He had the feeling that the detective was the type to be a touch insensitive, just to see how people responded, but he appeared to be a good person underneath the persona.

“What I don’t get is the Agreste kid’s involvement. His injuries look nothing like hers.” Detective Guerin gave Nikolai a sharp look; Nikolai kept his poker face on. “Plus, he only went AWOL for a day. According to the girl’s parents, she’d vanished briefly a few nights before- out of the middle of a bunch of her friends.”

Nikolai gave out what information he could. Fu had been quite clear- no one in Paris knew who the Black Cat and Ladybug were, and it wasn’t his business to tell. “As far as I can tell, he was going to be the next victim after her. But he’s partially immune to the mind control; some humans are. He got loose and fought back.”

“Brave kid,” the detective muttered. “And lucky as hell; the rogue didn’t kill him because he wanted the blood later. Otherwise, he’d be dead of a snapped neck and dumped in the river before he could blink.”

Nikolai grimaced. “True. I got there right before the boy passed out- but not before Ladybug and Cat Noir showed up. They were the ones to take out the rogue.”

Detective Guerin sat up straight at that. “The heroes of Paris? What do  _ they _ have to do with this? A vampire’s not an akuma!”

Nikolai heard that odd word; it sounded like what he'd heard earlier, but he set it aside to ask about later.“But the Miraculous were originally intended to help defend humanity from all sorts of magical threats. Ladybugs and Black Cats in particular have been the historic enemies of vampire-kind, and it was Cat Noir that took out the rogue.” Nikolai leaned in towards the detective. “Don’t assume that they are only around to defeat a corrupted Miraculous user. Our legends are full of the tales of those who fought our kind for millennia. That they leave us alone now is a blessing- and we want to keep it that way.”

“Which is why you’re here to police your own; I get it, I get it.” Detective Guerin waved a hand in dismissal. “And you wiped the kids’ memories for their own protection, I assume.” Nikolai kept silent; let the man think that was what it was. “Well, I’ll still do my investigation, but I’ll lean the evidence away from the horror-novel aspects. Did you find the rogue’s hiding place?”

“A family mausoleum in the cemetery.”

“Cliché, much?”

“He seemed to prefer being that way. I cleaned it out.”

“Good. I shouldn’t have to bother the heroes officially about this, but I’d like to interview them unofficially about it. I’ll just have to wait until the next akuma attack to flag them down- they don’t have contact numbers, more’s the pity.”

There was that odd word again. “Akuma?” Nikolai asked.

The detective huffed. “That corrupt Miraculous user? He sends magical butterflies to take people over and turn them into monsters.”

“Knew that.”

“Well, ‘akuma’ is a term both for the butterfly and the monster. Don’t know where it came from, but that’s what they’re called.”

Nikolai went cold.  _ And that woman with the tablet spoke of akumatizing Marinette- Ladybug…but he can’t know who she is…or his son, either…  _ Nikolai thought. He tried to frantically consider all the possibilities.

“What’s wrong? You look pale, even for a vampire,” the detective noted.

“Just that I’ve heard that word once before today,” Nikolai said carefully. “And it was said between that woman with the tablet and Mr. Agreste, after they left the room. She- she spoke of akumatizing that girl- his son’s friend…”

“Oh,  _ merde, _ ” the cop breathed, sitting back in his chair. “Agreste is involved with Hawkmoth?”

“Perhaps,” Nikolai temporized.  _ Or he might  _ **_be_ ** _ Hawkmoth… _ “It might be a good idea to keep a close eye on Mr. Agreste- and his assistant. For his son’s sake, if nothing else.”

“Sunshine Boy? Sure. Last thing that kid needs is a dad like that.”

Nikolai got up; he had to catch the train soon, and he didn’t have time to go back to Fu’s. Truth to tell, the Miraculous weren’t his problem; he didn’t have to tell Fu anything about his suspicions.But having the Ladybug and Black Cat around  _ could _ be a problem in the future, and helping them was in his people’s best interest.

He’d have to contact Fu- even if his suspicions were unfounded. “Thank you, Detective. If you have any concerns or questions, please email me.” He handed over a card with his contact information. “I need to get back to the farm.”

“Tell your wife and kids ‘hello’- if they’re ever in Paris, look me up,” said Detective Guerin, as he passed back a card of his own. “I’d rather know they were there and dismiss them from an investigation than mistake them for another rogue.”

Of course; he was a cop, he  _ would _ think of the practical aspects. “Honestly, I hope we never have to… but thanks.”

Nikolai attempted to call Fu as the train pulled out of the station, but the call went to voicemail. He left a message requesting a return call, then hung up. Already his thoughts were turning toward home- to his wife, his children (particularly Sami), his livestock- all the mundane things he had put off for the last few days.

He smiled. That was where he truly belonged; with his family. Nothing was more important than that.  _ And if that ass of a father can’t see his own son as anything but a pawn… then he deserves whatever karma comes his way. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nikolai's fallen into the trap a lot of adults do, consciously or not- the 'don't tell the kids; they'll just worry' mentality. True, but kids' imaginations are powerful; I find that telling them as much as possible, and reassuring them, keeps them from making up much worse scenarios in their heads. Plus, teen superheroes wouldn't really be allowed to BE kids, so more information is good.
> 
> This finishes the setup for the next story (tentatively titled 'Blood Kin'). Frankly, I don't know when it'll be out, with my habit of not posting an incomplete story combined with the insane length it's turning out to be. Please be patient with me.
> 
> Thoughts/ comments/ ideas are always welcome!

**Author's Note:**

> This is mostly setup for a new fic, featuring Nikolai's son Sami coming to Paris and interacting with our fabulous heroes. A little more vampire backstory for those of you who like that kind of thing (which I hope is all of you!)
> 
> Please comment/ rant/ question my sanity below. Goodness knows I do it often enough.


End file.
